Gibbons needs Delabar to pick it up

The 2013 All-Star has allowed runs in five of his last nine appearances, culminating with the three-run homer he served up to Detroit's J.D. Martinez on Tuesday. Delabar, who put the runners on with walks, entered with a five-run lead in the ninth. Gibbons was forced to use closer Casey Janssen to get the last out.

"He's not locating his fastball and he's walking too many guys," Gibbons said. "He might be feeling for (his pitches) a little bit. A lot of times that happens when you start walking guys; you starting guiding it."

Delabar told Gibbons there's nothing physically wrong with him, though his fastball velocity is down. He's averaging a career-low 93.2 mph with his heater, compared to his career-high 94.6 mph on fastballs last season when he struck out 82 batters in 58 2/3 innings.

Delabar has only six more strikeouts (20) than walks (14) in 22 2/3 innings.

When a reporter mentioned to Gibbons that Delabar's fastball velocity was down 5 percent, Gibbons quipped, "I thought it was 4.2."

Unless an injury crops up, Gibbons will continue to rely on Delabar, who ideally would be the seventh-inning setup man in front of Sergio Santos and closer Casey Janssen. Santos has been sidelined for nearly a month by a forearm injury, forcing Gibbons to mix and match Delabar, converted starter Dustin McGowan and left-hander Brett Cecil as the bridge to Janssen.

"We've got to get (Delabar) going," Gibbons said. "We need him to be good down there, so we're going to keep throwing him out there."

--RHP R.A. Dickey struggled through five innings but still got the win Wednesday in an 8-2 victory at Detroit. Dickey, who said his body felt "cranky," allowed two runs, seven hits and four walks in five-plus innings. He allowed five runs in five innings against Kansas City in his previous start but escaped with a no-decision. "I almost blew it for all of us, but it's fun to be on a team where if you can just keep it close, at some point, it's probably going to break open," he said. "It did again tonight."

--LF Melky Cabrera had three hits, including a first-inning homer, three runs scored and two RBIs at Detroit on Wednesday. It was the second time this season that Cabrera had scored three runs in a game. Cabrera is now hitting .309 with nine homers and 32 RBI, giving the club solid production from the No. 2 spot above sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.

--DH Adam Lind had a go-ahead, two-run double and drove in three runs on Wednesday. Lind is batting .413 over his last 13 games, raising his average to .349. He batted in between Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion with sinkerball right-hander Rick Porcello starting for Detroit. The team is 7-1 in games in which Lind has driven in a run. Lind finished the game at first base when Encarnacion's back tightened up.

--RF Jose Bautista had three hits, two runs scored and two RBIs in the 8-2 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday. Bautista has a 10-game hitting streak and has reached in 58 of 60 games. Bautista has 43 RBIs, second on the club to Edwin Encarnacion's 50.

--LHP Aaron Loup recorded one of the team's best holds of the season on Wednesday. He pitched two scoreless innings against Detroit, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the sixth with the Blue Jays clinging to a one-run lead. Loup retired the next three batters on a strikeout and two foulouts, then maintained the advantage in the seventh. Loup's ERA dropped to 2.43. "I've grown accustomed to how filthy he can be on guys," RHP R.A. Dickey said.

--LHP J.A. Happ has been the team's most inconsistent starter and needs to rebound from a subpar outing in Kansas City when he faces Detroit on Thursday afternoon. Happ lasted 7 2/3 innings against the Royals but allowed six runs while getting tagged with his second loss. He has only two quality starts in his last five outings. He has faced the Tigers twice in his career, including one start, allowing one run in 9 1/3 innings. No player on Detroit's roster has more than four career at-bats against him, so the early innings could be a feeling-out process.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We've been getting a lot of production out of the middle and top all year and now the bottom's doing some good things, setting the table. We think it's as good a lineup as any in baseball and we're showing that." -- Manager John Gibbons, after his team scored eight runs and won for the 13th time in 15 games Wednesday.